That Would Be Enough
by cococrazy4109
Summary: Alice invites a human to have dinner with the Cullens - who knew this is how things would end up? [Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my character, everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer] Eventual Jasper/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Human for dinner**

"Alice invited a human for dinner." Rosalie didn't even bother to give context, fuming inside as she silently glared at her sister.

Carlisle stopped what he'd been doing, which had just been reading, and looked up. "Alice?"

"She's nice. And she won't pry, I swear." Her eyes were hopefully - albeit, they usually were. For some reason that was their natural state.

"I don't care. Un-invite her!" Rosaline carried on complaining. She _would_ get her way. Having a human over was just unacceptable! And until them, unimaginable - or so she had thought.

"Well, that's rude of you," was the only answer given.

"Look," began to explain the blonde, "I already have to control myself at school. I don't want to have to do the same at home." She wasn't being unreasonable, she had some good points other than 'I don't like humans' - not that Alice would actually believe her. Probably because she did, in fact, hate humans… well, most of them. She could tolerate them enough - at school though, _not_ at her own house.

"Actually, her blood is quite unappealing. The scent is almost...repugnant." Rosalie's glare was now directed in Jasper's direction. Since when was he pro-human interactions?

"Are you talking about Eliza Rolens?" Apparently, Edward was now a part of the conversation too.

"Yeah."

"I still stand by my point," Rosalie reminded everyone before they got too sidetracked.

There was a small silence before Esme spoke up softly, "Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Having someone normal over might help diffuse those rumors that have been circling around town."

She also made a valid point and Rosalie wavered ever so slightly, that was, until Emmet decided to voice his opinion.

"And she's actually okay… for a human."

Everyone could sense Rosalie's glare as soon as the words had escaped her poor, unsuspecting, boyfriend's mouth.

"You _know_ her?"

Emmet rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she has math with me."

Alice was getting tired of all this dancing around without taking a solid decision. "So, is that a yes?" Her eyes still held hope.

Rosalie scoffed when she saw no one saying yes, yet not saying no either, and muttered under her breath, "Why is everyone suddenly in love with this girl?" Of course, them all being vampires heard her.

Her comment was ignored.

And so it was decided that the following Friday, the Cullen's would invite one Eliza Rolens to have dinner with them.

* * *

Eliza Rolens was nervous.

The road was dark and it enveloped her in its clutches as she pedaled along the road.

But that wasn't why she was nervous, the dark didn't scare her. (Perhaps just a little bit, but not any more than average.)

She wasn't nervous because she was cold - freezing to be precise - and wished she'd brought a bigger coat with her. She still hadn't adjusted to the harsher weather in Forks.

No, she was nervous because she was having dinner with the Cullens Family.

They were also new to town and their five foster children went to Forks High with her.

Alice, the most approachable of the siblings - they were _all_ strangely intimidating -, had invited her - the lonely new girl - to dine with her and her family just one week into school.

Eliza had been too polite to refuse the invitation. It was very kind of Alice, and if it'd been just her, Eliza would maybe not even have thought twice about the whole thing, but, as it was, it wasn't just Alice she would be having dinner with, but Alice and her four siblings and two foster parents.

Eliza wasn't shy, per se, but social interactions with strangers wasn't on her list of favorite pastimes.

Add the fact that her parents were out of town - like usual -, she didn't know how to drive - and didn't want to learn how -, the Cullens lived on the outskirts of town - which accumulated to thirty minutes on her bike, in the dark and cold, resulted in her mood not being the best.

Only the thought of a potential friend - which meant no more lunches eaten by herself - drove her on and kept Eliza from bailing out at the last minute.

She eventually caught sight of the house, after a couple of minutes debating whether or not she'd gotten herself lost - who lived in the middle of the forest?

The house was fancy, actually the word fancy didn't quite cut it, and modern. The lights within made it stand out like a beacon amongst the dark.

She parked her bike next to the front steps, re-arranging her outfit as she climbed up the porch stairs and rang the doorbell.

She hadn't been too sure on what to wear - formal or casual? - and had settled on jeans - no way was she riding her bike with a skirt or dress on - and a nice blouse.

From what she'd been able to observe, the Cullens dressed stylishly. She didn't want to stand out anymore than necessary.

Alice was the one to open the door.

"Eliza!"

"Hi," the girl smiled. "Sorry, I'm a bit late." Ten minutes to be exact and she couldn't even blame the traffic.

Alice waved her off like she hadn't even noticed that she was late to begin with.

"Come on in!" She always seemed to be smiling, and Eliza appreciated that about her. It made her want to smile all the time too.

The first thing that caught her attention was how hot it was inside. The temperature in the house was boiling, so much that her glasses had fogged up a bit.

Alice took her coat and Eliza cleaned the mist off with the hem of her blouse.

She took a startled step back when she had her glasses back on, having spotted the entire family now in the foyer - she hadn't even heard them come in.

Her heart hammered a little bit harder in her chest.

Introductions were made; Carlisle and Esme were both lovely and polite, Rosalie had a strained expression that'd loosened when Emmett strung an arm over her shoulder (apparently they were a thing and people at school had been really weirded out about it. Eliza tried not to be bothered by it. They weren't actually related and if their 'parents' were okay with it, then who was she to judge?), Edward, who - in her honest opinion - seemed a little depressed and brooding, and finally there was Jasper (people weren't sure if he and Alice were also a thing, they seemed close and the fact that Eliza couldn't decipher if it was simply sibling affection or more, deeply disturbed her.)

Eliza felt quite small surrounded by all these people.

"It was very nice of you to have me over for dinner."

"It's our pleasure dear," was Esme's warm reply.

Alice simply winked at her. "Us new kids have to stick together," she said and led her further into the house.

Eliza was grateful to leave the foyer behind her.

The house was nicely decorated and she perceived a simple touch to the way things had been arranged. It was all very orderly and had a meticulous flare to it.

Their kitchen, as well as their living room, was spacious and glowed in a soft orange hue.

The smell of soy sauce fried noodles invaded Eliza's senses and for a minute she was transported back to her childhood days, her father cooking with the funny apron on as her mother bounced around setting the table and singing softly.

"That smells really good," she commented, sensing everyone's eager eyes on her.

Esme smiled proudly. "Really?"

"Yeah," Eliza nodded. "It's actually my favorite food…" Her smile was shy.

Edward's expression shifted to smug for a second before regaining the scowl that had been plastered beforehand. Eliza was the only one to not notice the change or the rolling of some eyes that followed.

They all took a seat with Eliza placed between Carlisle and Alice at the head of the table.

She felt uncomfortable being the center of attention and she was sweating slightly. Although that might've been due to the high temperature of the room. She wanted to say something, but no one else seemed affected or bothered by it and she didn't want to sound rude. She was really hot though - maybe it was just nerves? - and her skin was now getting clammy as well as sweaty.

Edward saved her from saying anything, and dying of embarrassment, by getting up and heading towards the thermometer.

"It's hot," he said, when his whole family turned to cast their curious looks at him.

There was an awkward silence as he sat back down again and the food was served.

Eliza took notice that she'd been served a bigger plate, or more like her plate was average sized and the rest were lacking.

"So, Alice told us you haven't been here for long?" It's Carlisle who asked, drawing her attention away from the food servings.

Eliza finished chewing before answering.

"Yeah. We moved in at the beginning of the summer."

"And how are you liking Forks so far?"

"It's okay. Smaller than what I'm used to. We lived in San Francisco before this."

"That's pretty far away. Any particular reason you decided to move?"

"Not really." _Yes_. " My father's job entails a lot of moving around traveling, so it doesn't really matter where we live." She drank a bit of water. "I got tired of the city and asked if we could move somewhere smaller, so here we are." Not exactly the truth, but they didn't have to know that.

"May I ask what your father does for a living?"

"He's in the military. He doesn't talk about his job a lot though, so I wouldn't be able to give much more information. Sorry."

"No need to apologize, dear. Would you like some more water?" Esme looked at Eliza expectantly.

"Uh, sure. Yes, please."

They all seemed to be done with their food already. Their plates had barely been touched. Eliza hoped they had enjoyed the food at least…

She hesitated before asking a question that had been on her mind. Silence had settled briefly and Eliza was the worst at handling uncomfortable lapses in conversation. She usually made things worse trying to avoid them.

"If it's not too rude of me to ask - are any of you actually related?" She was nervous as the question left her lips, not wanting to be misinterpreted as nosy or judgemental.

She'd always wondered what differences the adoption and fostering processes entailed.

Emmett laughed, catching Eliza by surprise.

"Is this because of what people have been saying about us?"

"What have people been saying?" Esme looked sad and Eliza felt bad, even though she hadn't really said anything wrong… yet.

"They think it's weird Rosalie and Emmett are dating because they live in the same house." It was Edward that offered this insight - nothing Eliza hadn't already heard from the other kids.

"I don't think it's weird," She offered, looking at Rosalie who was frowning at her drink. Sure, it wasn't something you heard about every day, but it wasn't like it was incest. Besides, if their 'parents' were okay with it, then it wasn't anybody else's business really.

Still, it couldn't be nice to be new and already have rumors circulating about you.

Eliza was aware some were also circulating around her - the reason she'd been eating by herself all week. Somehow, news that she was eighteen years old and still a junior had gotten out, and people had drawn the conclusion that it necessarily meant she was bad news. If only that was the real reason.

She was heading down a dark train of thought - the past - when Jasper spoke for the first time, drawing her back to the present.

His voice soothed her mind as he answered her original question.

"Rosalie is my twin and Alice, Edward and Emmett are blood siblings."

Eliza nodded in understanding. It was nice that they'd all been picked by the same foster family and not separated. They looked happy here - or relatively at least, Edward didn't seem capable of smiling. (He frowned in annoyance.)

Eliza took the last bite of her plate.

"Do you want some dessert? I made chocolate cake." Alice suddenly beamed, looking very proud of herself. "I've never made a cake before," she revealed.

Eliza felt like they'd all gone to huge lengths for this dinner and felt honored, yet bashful, that it was all for her. She might've flushed.

"Chocolate is my favorite."

Alice's smile lightened up even brighter. "Perfect!"

After dessert, which no one except Eliza had, the family proposed she stay a little bit longer.

"I wish I could, but it's really dark out and I have a long way back home." It was already nearing midnight and the food had made her groggy. She _really_ didn't feel like riding her bike for thirty minutes.

"You don't have a car?" Edward asked her.

"I don't drive," she clarified, hands fumbling nervously. She was aware it was weird - eighteen and didn't drive? - but she was really terrified of steering a wheel, even just thinking about it would cause trepidation to rise in her bones.

"Well, that's alright," Alice smiled and looked at Jasper. "Jasper can drive you."

Carlisle looked at Alice, a warning in his eyes. "I don't think that's -"

"I don't mind," Jasper interrupted.

Carlisle looked at Edward for guidance.

"He'll be fine."

Eliza felt lost, having no clue as to what was happening, sensing she was missing a second conversation that was going on secretly. "It's okay. I like riding my bike." She didn't want them to go through the extra trouble, they'd already done enough.

Jasper looked at her. "I insist."

She felt compliant at his words and found herself agreeing without further resistance. "Okay. Thank you."

The ride to her house was...silent yet not completely awkward. Jasper seemed deep in thought and Eliza dared not disturb him save for instructions and two brief thank yous; one to him for the ride, and another to his family and Alice for the invite.

* * *

"That went well." Emmett waited for Jasper to come back before voicing his thoughts.

"It did, didn't it?" Esme was throwing away the leftover food. "And she seemed to like the food."

"She did," confirmed Edward. "She was surprised about the effort - touched though."

"Did she suspect anything?" That was what really interested Rosalie.

"No. She found a couple of things out of place but she won't piece anything together. She's not very observant. We won't have to worry about that."

Alice looked at everyone pointedly. "See? I told you this was going to work."

Carlisle smiled at his daughter. "Yes, you were right. And I'm proud of you all." He added.

Emmett shrugged, "It wasn't even that hard really. Her blood really does smell horrible."

They all nodded in agreement.

It was a good thing too. It would help divert attention from themselves, if they occasionally hung out with other people, and the fact that Eliza Rolens blood wasn't a temptation made her the perfect accomplice.

 **A/N: Hello! So, I had this scene floating around my head and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. Hope you liked it? If you think it has potential, people don't hesitate to tell me as I'm not sure if I should continue this or not...Have a good day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Dissection**

"Hey, Eliza, over here!"

Eliza looked over her shoulder and spotted Alice waving at her. She was sitting at a table with her siblings, an empty chair between her and Jasper.

Eliza let out a long breath of relief.

She'd been getting her lunch tray and had already been resigned to eat by herself. She hadn't know if she had a close enough relationship with the Cullens to eat with them after just one dinner.

Apparently, she did. Her relief was palpable on her face. (She didn't dwell well with loneliness, save for when she was at her house. That was a different kind of loneliness, one she could deal with - at least most of the time.)

Eliza walked over after being served her food.

"Hello," she said, taking the seat that'd been saved for her.

They all grumbled out some kind of greetings but only Alice seemed happy to have her there.

"How was your weekend?" The brunette asked.

"It was okay? I mostly watched TV and did some homework."

"That sounds like fun! We went hunting."

"Alice!" Rosalie hissed, suddenly invested in the conversation, and not her nails, like she'd previously been.

"We did though."

"Is that a family activity you guys do?" Eliza had the feeling her presence wasn't exactly welcomed by Rosalie and so she tried to diverge the tension. She didn't want to cause problems for Alice - she was so nice.

"Yes."

"Catch anything?"

"A deer."

"That's cool." It wasn't, _poor deer_.

"It was fun. Have you ever gone hunting?"

"Once, with my parents. I wasn't very good at it though, my hands were shaking too much to take good aim."

"That's understandable," Jasper said. "Killing something isn't easy." It was a very psychopathic comment to make, something someone with experience would say, but seeing the smile that accompanied his words eased whatever worries had briefly flashed through her.

"Exactly. I feel bad even when I kill a mosquito so…" Eliza shrugged and silence settled again. It seemed to be a recurring theme with this group. She guessed she'd just have to get used to it, however hard it would prove for her.

"You said you didn't drive...How do you get to school then?" It was Alice again.

"I ride my bike. Doesn't take too long; ten minutes max."

"What about when it rains?"

"I'll walk? I don't think it's safe enough to have me on wheels when the pavement is wet." She smiled, trying to reassure Alce that she could take care of herself.

"Can't your parents drive you?"

"Sure, when they're here."

"Are they gone a lot?"

Eliza shrugged. "Most of the time, yeah. They're usually back for like a week or so before leaving again." Or at least, that's how it had worked before Forks. Now, it seemed they never stayed for more than a couple days.

"And you don't mind? Being left alone all the time?"

"Not really." _Yes._ "I mean, I can blast off my music as loud as I want without annoying anyone _and_ go to bed whenever I feel like it." Which was embarrassingly early considering no one was there to ground her if she stayed up late. "What's _not_ to like?"

Emmett smirked in agreement. "So, you basically live by yourself?"

"Is that even legal? You're underaged."

Eliza felt the hints of annoyance flare up in her at Rosalie's comment. She didn't like people judging her situation. She knew her family wasn't your average household, but it worked for them. She preferred to be left alone than to have them hovering all the time - she was _fine_ , how many times had she had to repeat herself before they'd even started to listen? - she wasn't, and they _knew_ that and yet they still left her alone every month.

They'd raised her to be independent, so it wasn't like she had trouble managing the house and herself with it. She was _fine._

Except that most of the time, she wasn't.

And they called; every other day she'd get a phone call to catch them up on what had been going on. They still cared about her - cared enough to know what was happening in her life and cared enough to _not_ be there.

"I'm eighteen actually." And a fucking _junior._

Now the silence was awkward and it was her fault.

"I had to re-do a couple years...When I was younger, I tagged along with my parents, but eventually they realised it wasn't helping my education. Changing schools every other month sucks." Talking helped diffuse tension, right? "And well, I had a problem at my last school too - that didn't help things." She was calling _her_ a _problem_ now - this is what it had come to; She should feel ashamed of herself.

In a way she did, she could feel herself getting pulled back to _before,_ but a calmness overtook her body, dragging her back to _now._

Edward was looking at her curiously and Eliza didn't like it.

She took a spoonful of spaghetti, hoping to distract herself.

"Well, Jasper and I can pick you up for school when it rains, if you'd like?" Right, they'd been talking about her bike initially. How had the conversation gone so downhill? Or maybe it hadn't, and it was just her overacting in her head. She didn't know.

"That's very nice of you Alice." Eliza smiled at the girl, "I'd appreciate it."

She took another spoonful. "Aren't you guys gonna eat?"

"I'm not hungry," answered Rosalie whilst Emmett picked up his apple and began to toss it and catch it, like that would change the fact that he hadn't touched his plate the whole time.

Jasper took a bite out of a sandwich Alice had picked up and Edward simply said, "I've already eaten." There was no plate in front of him.

Maybe they were on a diet?

* * *

"Wanna be my lab partner?" Eliza was in biology, a class she shared with Jasper, and the teacher had asked them to sort themselves into pairs. He'd been alone and since he was the only person she knew in the class, she'd decided to approach him.

He contemplated her briefly before sliding the stool next to him back in invitation.

"Thanks," she said, taking a seat. "So, frog dissection… fun, am I right?"

"I'm not squeamish."

"Great! I'll let you do all the disgusting work then and I'll answer the questions. If that's okay with you?"

Jasper nodded, grabbing a pair of white gloves and putting them on.

"Right. First on the list; Vometrine teeth."

He slid the scalpel clean through the frog's mid-section, pinning up the sides.

"Could you please hand me the toothpick label?" Eliza grabbed toothpick label number one and handed it over to him. He placed it on the roof of the frog's mouth.

It was a disgusting sight and she tried not to look at it for too long. Perhaps skipping lunch like the Cullens would have been a good idea.

"Right. Next one is Eustachian tubes. What the hell are Eustachian tubes?"

"They equalize the pressure in the inner ear while the frog swims. It's inside the top of the head. Label, please?"

"Here."

"Thank you. Next?"

"Esophagus… Oh, I know that one!"

Jasper chuckled to himself, caught his reaction, stopped, and went back to being serious. It was amusing to watch. "Want to do this one then?"

"Okay." Eliza leaned over and placed it in the center. It was less disgusting than what she'd expected.

Jasper read the next one, number four on the list. "Glottis."

"Yeah, I don't know that one."

"Right behind the tongue, before the esophagus."

"Here?"

"Little bit to the left."

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." Label four was placed carefully.

"Want to do the next one too?"

"Nah, I'll let you get back to it, you seemed to be enjoying yourself." Besides, the Glottis had been less fun to pierce and more googier than the esophagus.

"Tongue. Well that one's easy!"

"I did ask."

"Yeah, I know… Liver. You've got to be kidding me."

Jasper chuckled, again. He didn't stop himself this time though. "Never too late to change your mind."

Eliza shook her head.

"Suit yourself. How many do we have left?"

"About seven?" She looked at the list, eyes rolling as she grumbled out the next name on the list, "Heart."

"Lungs."

"Oh come on… Stomach."

"Small intestine."

"Large intestine."

"Ah ha! _Gall bladder_."

Jasper smirked, placing the toothpick over the correct spot.

"How do I know that's the right place and that you're not just making this up?"

"You don't."

"Touché Jasper, touché. Last one: spleen."

"This one might get nasty."

"What do you -" The 'spleen', which Eliza just now remembered was where the blood was stored, exploded as Jasper placed the final label. Exploded might've been too harsh a word, more like a little blood spurted out and dribbled over the rest of the frog's interior. It wasn't a pretty site, but she'd expected something more dramatic and gruesome. It was actually kind of anticlimactic.

"That was...nice." She commented.

"The wonders of the frog."

She laughed. "You're pretty good at this. Biology one of your favorite subjects?"

"Not really." Jasper started to clean up the utensils they'd used. "I like History better."

"Well, in any case, I think I'm gonna stay as your lab partner. We make a good team - in other words; you work, I talk."

"Glad to be of service ma'am."

Eliza snorted at the word. "Ma'am? What do I look like, forty?" It felt nice, this careless banter with Jasper. She wasn't prone to this type of conversations with people - her wit wasn't the best on the market so she usually refrained in the hopes of keeping her dignity. But this was alright.

"It's a habit. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, it was more funny than insulting. Let me just warn the teacher that we're done."

* * *

It was raining when the bell signaling the end of the day rang.

Eliza hadn't been in Forks for long, but she'd noticed it rained here more often than not. She liked it, oddly enough.

Sure, the sun was nice and being basked in warmth and light was pleasurable, but it was nothing compared to the smell of damp earth or the rhythmic pattern of raindrops against a windowsill.

As long as there was no wind involved, she'd take rain over the sun any day.

She'd appreciate the phenomenon a whole lot more if she didn't have glasses though. They were a real bother in that kind of weather, fogging up and painting splatters that would leave her vision impaired - even more so than it was by default.

A horn blast brought Eliza back to earth and away from the hinderance glasses were - when not helping her see better.

Surprisingly the blast was for her, _un_ surprisingly it came from Alice.

She was signaled over and Eliza would have rolled her eyes - already guessing what her new friend was going to say - if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a nice gesture.

It was still weird how friendly Alice was being towards her. Not that she wasn't appreciating the girl's attention - because she was, a lot; if not for Alice she'd be alone - but because it was hard to find people being nice just for the sake of it - no masked ulterior reasons.

She was offered a ride - as foreseen -, which she tried refuting - I know Alice, but my _bike_ \- to which she received an - We'll just give you a ride tomorrow too then! - and before she knew it she found herself back in a vehicle being driven by a Cullen.

This was becoming a recurring play of events.

Jasper knew the way to her house (which she found odd before remembering he'd been there just last Friday) and it had stopped raining by the time the car slowed in front of her driveway - empty, as usual.

Her parents were supposed to be back next week; if no setbacks emerged - they usually did. She'd given up expecting them to be punctual a long time ago - lie -, it had only been two years - only to have her hopes brought down when a message arrived relaying some delay or whatnot.

Sometimes she wondered why they'd had her. Wouldn't they be happier without the burden of a child; getting to travel without taking her needs into account - not that they did - and no schedule to follow, no need to be home from time to time to avoid accusations of child abandonment?

Eliza found it only polite to offer them to come in, maybe even have a snack or whatnot. Whatever she had and they fancied - if they bothered to eat. They didn't seem too fond of the notion, yet they had to at some point otherwise they'd die.

Jasper was politely declining the offer when Alice took the decision for both of them, climbing out of her seat with a smile.

Eliza shot Jasper an apologetic look.

"Oh," was Alice's reaction upon entering her household, not the most welcoming review. No one liked hearing _that_.

"Yeah, sorry for the mess," Eliza rubbed her neck self consciously. "Haven't really had the time to unpack everything…" Or the motivation. Or the help.

"It's okay. Maybe I can come over after school some day and help?"

"That's not really nece-"

" _Please,_ I love decorating."

Jasper nodded behind Alice, confirming her words.

"Okay, if you _insist…"_

"I do."

"Thank you."

"Nonsense, in any case you're helping a friend divulge in her hobby."

"If you say so...Want anything to eat?"

They both shook their heads.

Right, of course. Eliza was starting to get worried. She hoped it was nothing - it surely wasn't - but experience had taught her to be wary of these things.

She would try to keep a close eye, and if they still sparsely ate, then she would maybe try bringing the subject up.

They weren't thin enough to be truly worried, but then again, it was an eventual - gradual - thing; it always started out slowly and grew and grew until it was too late.

She wouldn't - _couldn't -_ let it get that far, not a second time.

"Anything to drink then?"

Two shakes… again.

"I don't know what else to offer then," she laughed, making light of the situation and her thoughts alongst it.

"Then don't offer anything. Tell us more about yourself."

Eliza looked at Alice weirdly. "Uh…"

"Alice."

"What? I find her interesting Jasper, and she doesn't mind - don't you?"

"No? I mean, I don't find _me_ particularly interesting. What about you? I barely know anything about you." Friday's dinner conversation had been more centered around her.

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Just like that? Okay, well - um, okay - what do your parents do?"

"Carlisle is a doctor, Esme doesn't work. She liked decorating though. My turn - when's your birthday?"

"Twenty-eighth of August. Yours?"

"Fifteenth of November. Why don't you drive?"

"I don't like cars."

"Why?"

"They're dangerous?"

"Why?"

"I don't know…"

"W-"

"Alice," Jasper interrupted, touching her shoulder gently. "That's enough."

"Right," she shook her head. "I'm sorry. We should go. It was nice of you to invite us in. I'll see you tomorrow."

And just like that, they were gone, leaving a very confused Eliza in their wake.

* * *

"You're back," Rosalie looked up from the book she'd been reading. "Where did you guys go?" She asked with a suggestive smirk, eyeing up her two 'siblings'.

"Eliza's house."

Rosalie's smirk disappeared. "Oh. _Her._ What's up with that? You're oddly fixated."

"She's nice," Alice shrugged.

"You've seen her, haven't you? In one of your visions?" Jasper's eyes were curious as he drew the conclusion.

"Maybe."

"Don't tell me she becomes one of us." Rosalie set her book aside, eyebrows furrowed.

"No. Not yet at least…"

"Then? What happens?"

"Rosalie, it's nothing to worry about. I can assure you."

Edward walked in. "Assure what?"

"Alice has seen the hu - _Eliza_ , in her visions."

Edward's gaze shifted from Jasper to Alice.

"Really? And what happens - oh... _oh._ You've got to be kidding me." All the room's eyes were fixated on the mind reader, who'd, consequently, had _read_ Alice's mind.

"It's a joke right? No, of course it's not a joke. How is that even…"

Alice seemed frustrated someone else now knew too. "It's possible, and it's happening."

"You understand the implications -"

"Of course I do Edward!"

"What it would mean -"

"Yes."

"And not to mention -"

" _Yes._ But it's going to work."

They fell silent, eyes sizing the other up.

Jasper wasn't completely out of the loop, having sensed Alice's emotions - anticipation - and Edward's - dread - but Rosalie, possessing no supernatural abilities, was truly, _completely_ lost.

It wasn't a sentiment she enjoyed. Her glare informed her siblings of this.

"Anyone care to share with the rest of the class?" She said, arms crossed over her chest.

"It might not be anything," Edward said, after a moment's pause. "No need to worry over something that _probably won't happen_." The last part was directed at Alice, who huffed and left the room.

Rosalie's arms were thrown over her head in frustration.

"Sometimes, you guys are the worst."

 **A/N: Hey everyone! It's me, back after three days? This is a record for me… Anyways! I decided to continue with this story for the time being, although I won't promise another update so soon again. Sorry? Inspiration isn't lacking, but I'm in the middle of my December exam session which means studying is a priority. It sucks. It's school. What more can I say?**

 **(Anyone care to guess what Alice's vision was?)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Palm Reading**

The rest of the week went by without import, nothing new or exciting happening until Friday afternoon as the bell rang and freedom was accomplished.

"Got any plans for the afternoon?" Alice asked Eliza as she grabbed her things from her locker.

(She only ever used it on Friday's, apparently she was obliged by the school policy to wear the school's sports clothes - as if her presence wasn't already enough - and she kept the gear locked away, no need to bring that horrendous outfit back to her house.)

Eliza hummed in denial. Her afternoon plan would consist of watching TV, maybe a bath, and then snuggling in bed with her music and a good book - before her peace was disrupted by her parent's arrival the following morning. (And yet she missed them, why was she so _contradicting?_ )

"Perfect! I can help you unpack then." Alice's expression left no room for argument, something Eliza had been on the verge of doing. And then, as if what she was going to be doing wasn't nice enough, she added, "Maybe even dinner at my house afterwards."

"Alice," began Eliza.

"You don't have anything better to do. And besides, my family liked you. They'd love to have you over again."

Eliza wasn't too sure about that.

Her parents had been nice enough, that was true, but Rosalie still seemed exasperated whenever she showed up. Emmett was fine she guessed, and so was Jasper (she'd sat with him in Biology again. No banter this time - nevertheless, it had still been pleasant) but Edward...Eliza couldn't figure him out. He'd started out like Rosalie - exasperated - but had shifted his attitude into veiled curiosity these last few days.

Veiled as in totally conspicuous - he had a very penetrating stare. She felt like a cell under a bioscope whenever he was near.

It was unnerving, to say the least.

She hoped Alice wasn't doing all this out of pity. Perhaps she should have laid low on the absent parents?

She'd hate if that was the real motive.

"Are you sure?" She asked, perhaps hoping her friend would change her opinion out of the blue - she didn't.

"Fine," Eliza's sigh was more for dramatic effect than actual displeasure (there was a little bit of that too.) "But…no fancy meal. We can grab takeout or something - and _I'll_ pay. Deal?"

Alice's eyes clearly screamed 'No Deal' but she surprised Eliza by rolling her eyes and grumbling out an agreement.

Putting the current discussion aside, it was nice she had reached a point where was close enough to Alice for them to bicker.

She'd never thought she'd find a good friend in Forks, the idea hadn't even crossed her mind - it hadn't been the plan - and yet here she was.

Eliza couldn't say she was displeased by this turn of events.

It might've brought back bittersweet memories, but wasn't it better to afront them with company than in solitude?

Ideally, not having them at all would have been preferred (she didn't mean that - she _didn't_ ).

She _wouldn't_ forget her. Alice was not a replacement.

She _wasn't_ \- was she? She couldn't be. Alice didn't even _look_ like her, and Eliza had the right to move on, and moving on would mean meeting new people, making new friends.

That's what she was doing and there was nothing wrong with that. Still, sometimes it was hard to convince herself of the fact.

If only Alice and her were in the same year and shared classes, then she'd have less time to divulge in her mind. Alice was good at distracting her.

"Let me just warn Jasper. Hey, maybe he'll want to help too?"

Eliza shook her head, "I doubt it. No one likes to unpack when it's their stuff, much less when it's someone else's."

Alice closed her locker, hanging her bag over her shoulder and making her way over to the parking lot.

Eliza followed, adding, "You're the only one crazy enough."

"What can I say, I'm a special snowflake," Alice winked. "Hey, Jazz!"

Jasper's eyes found Eliza's upon hearing his name, shifting over to Alice's as the girls approached him. Eliza went hot all over, the sensation leaving as quickly as it'd come. Maybe she was wearing too many layers? It wasn't as cold now as it'd been in the morning.

Jasper was standing by Alice's car, probably waiting for her. The Cullens drove to school in small 'groups' and those two were one - only re-enforcing the doubt placed in Eliza's mind concerning how close their bond truly went. She wasn't there to judge, but it'd be nice to know for sure.

"I'm helping Eliza unpack, you want in?"

He seemed confused by the proposition, as if wondering why that would interest him. Eliza was asking herself the same question, to be honest - that and Alice's use of 'Jazz' instead of Jasper's full name. She'd never been one for nicknames, never knowing when it was appropriate to use them and, furthermore; never finding any that weren't too cheesy for her taste.

Pet names between couples was another whole category she didn't want to get into at that moment.

There was a non-verbal conversation that transpassed between Alice and Jasper, one which Alice seemed to lose - coming out looking disappointed - and one that Eliza did not follow in the slightest.

She tried not to feel too bummed out about that fact.

She failed.

"Fine. Just tell Carlisle and Esme that Eliza is coming over for dinner again."

Jasper's eyebrows furrowed in a silent question which Alice dutifully neglected, turning on her heels to face Eliza and offering up her arm.

Eliza shot him an apologetic look - it hadn't been her idea, she was just forced into accepting.

Alice was a hard person to resist.

"Wait, how's he getting back?" She asked, sliding into the passenger seat of the Porsche.

The only reason Eliza knew that was because she'd asked, she didn't know the first thing about cars (she wasn't exactly fascinated about them) and she'd only taken an interest in Alice's because it was yellow. Yes, it was a stupid reason. At least she'd cared a little bit.

"He'll walk. Air might help clear his mind," Alice grumbled out her answer.

Eliza didn't know what had trespassed between the two but she was finding Alice's tone oddly amusing.

The drive to her house was quick, shorter than it should have been - it seemed the Cullens were a fan of driving fast, something she was not fond of. She didn't have the heart to comment on it though, they _were_ driving her, it would be rude to go ahead and complain.

She would just have to suck it up and be slightly terrified for a few minutes, she was a big girl, she could handle a bit of fear. (She couldn't.)

"Sorry Jasper couldn't come," Alice commented - again -, dropping her bag against a couch and plopping down on it like she owned the place.

Eliza sometimes envied her friends' confidence, but not in a bad way, more like in silent admiration and aspiration kind of way.

"That's fine?" Was Eliza's confused answer. She didn't know why she should care.

Alice's response was a grunt, of what it was hard to tell - it'd been too intangible to attribute a specific meaning.

"No, it isn't. He was _supposed_ to come and then he went ahead and changed his stupid mind."

"Oh, you guys had talked about this?"

"Kind of. Too late now though."

There was a silence, not awkward but just _there_.

"What are your thoughts on Jasper?"

Eliza found the question odd - yet again. She'd realised Alice did that a lot - ask odd questions randomly.

It kept her on her toes.

"He's okay," She shrugged, not really sure on what to answer. Why did she want to know? Was Alice seeking some kind of approval from her part?

"Nothing else?"

"Alice, I just met him. I barely know him." She laughed, "I barely know you."

"You will though."

"Well, _I hope so_."

"Is your room done at least?" Alice asked out of the blue, eyeing up the boxes closest to her in interest.

"Yeah, I can handle this mess as long as it's _not_ in my room."

"Right. How about we start with the living room then, since it's the first thing people see upon entering. You need to make a good first impression, after all."

"Your call boss, I'm just here to follow your orders."

Alice seemed to like the sound of that, jumping to her feet and clapping her hands. "This is going to be fun!"

"Whatever you say, Alice."

They made quick progress, the girl might have been small but she packed a lot of energy in that body of hers. Eliza could barely keep up, in fact, she didn't - she'd done less than half of what Alice had.

Eliza had to admit though, the living room was turning out quite nicely.

Her parents would appreciate the pleasant surprise. If only because it'd mean she done something productive with her time.

"Hey, do you mind if I put on some music?"

Alice rolled her eyes at her. "Why would I care?"

Eliza chose not to answer, instead picking out a music CD - Avril Lavigne, because she was awesome - and turning the stereo volume up.

"Who's this?"

"How do you _not know_ who Avril Lavigne is?"

"My musical taste verges more on the classical spectrum."

"That was a fancied ass sentence," Eliza snorted out and Alice stuck her tongue out in response.

"I'll have to give you a lesson on what's hot on the radio right now then, wouldn't want anyone to think you're uncultured."

"Sweety, I'm as far from uncultured as you can get."

"I'll believe that if you can tell me what 'Asereje' is."

"It's Italian… or Spanish - Wait, I know this!"

Eliza rolled over laughing - she'd been on the floor, going through replenishing the lower bookshelf. "It's a song, Alice!"

"Laugh all you want. _Je ne connais peut-être pas la musique d'aujourd'hui, mais je sais parler français_." This was accompanied by her sticking her tongue out. (She seemed to enjoy reacting this way. It was cute, her eyes always squinted in unison.)

"What was that?"

"That, my sweetest friend, was French."

"I didn't know you spoke French."

"Well, I _am_ full of surprises." Eliza nodded her agreement, getting up from her splayed out position and stretching her legs.

Her lips moved in sync to the music playing in the background as she fetched herself a glass of water. She would have offered Alice one too if she hadn't already known for a fact that her friend would refuse.

How her skin was that clear when she didn't stay hydrated would remain a mystery to Eliza. Maybe it was a special skin treatment that Carlisle had recommended to all of them, because it had not passed by Eliza that the whole family was unholy beautiful.

Sometimes even distractingly beautiful. (She'd caught herself staring on several occasions, feeling like a complete creep afterwards.)

"Actually, wouldn't hurt you to learn some few words, it _is_ the language of love."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, you never know when it could come in handy. Guys drool over that kind of thing."

It was the opposite situation in Eliza's mind. She would much rather the language was _spoken_ to her than she be the one doing the speaking.

"Bet Jasper loves that kind of thing." She didn't know why she'd said that. Maybe she was trying to show her friend she was okay with them dating - she was sure they were, she'd never seen two people more in tune before - without actually saying anything.

Alice wasn't offended by her comment, or anything like that, in fact, she seemed to find it amusing, smiling to herself.

Eliza didn't think Alice had understood what she'd been trying to subtly convey.

* * *

"Why do I smell hu -" Rosalie cut her sentence off. "Hello Alice, Eliza. What a surprise." Her tone was deadpanned, laced with a soft glare meant for Alice.

"I told Jasper, didn't he relay the message?"

Jasper looked up from his relaxed position on the couch. "I told Esme and Carlisle, it isn't my fault you weren't there to hear it." His words were directed towards Rosalie, who didn't take them lightly.

"And you're okay with this?"

Jasper's eyes narrowed in annoyance, couldn't Rosalie see that Eliza was right _there_ and could hear everything they were saying?

He directed his attention to the girl's emotions, toning down the hurt she was feeling as he smiled at her. "Nice to have you over again." This was said mostly to annoy Rosalie and appease Eliza's inner insecurity.

She smiled back tentatively. "Thank Alice for not leaving me any choice."

Jasper chuckled, a low sound that lifted the corner of his eyes.

"Eliza!" Esme appeared out of nowhere (startling Eliza) and went in to hug her. "It's so nice to see you again! You know, Alice hasn't shut up about you the whole week. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she has a crush on you."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Esme."

Eliza, in turn, blushed a soft shade of pink, mumbling in a moment of bravery, "Is that why you spoke French to me? Were you trying to seduce me?" A smile hinted at the corners of her mouth as Alice laughed. Even Rosalie cracked a small smile that she didn't bother to hide.

"It's very nice of you to have me over again."

"Oh, nonsense," Esme waved her off. "It's refreshing to talk to someone who isn't this lot from time to time."

Her family - those present - glared, but it was obvious no offense was actually taken.

"I hope you like steak? I didn't know what to make for dinner."

Eliza was aware that she had specifically told Alice nothing fancy and that she would pay this time. It was apparent she hadn't thought it important to relay that part of the message. She'd get annoyed if it had been worth it, but Esme seemed genuinely happy to have her over again and well… she really liked steak. Amazing how this family just seemed to cook her favorite meals, like they'd read her mind or something.

Edward walked in during that thought, pausing his steps to stare at her. "Oh," he said, voice taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

"She's having dinner with us!" Rosalie's tone was too exaggeratedly cheery to be sincere and everyone caught on.

She was reprimanded by Esme, "Rosalie, either be nice or go somewhere else."

The blonde huffed in annoyance but stayed. Eliza felt extremely awkward.

"Hey, do you want to see my room?" She appreciated Alice's attempt to diverge the tension, shooting her a grateful smile. (Edward was just _standing_ there now.)

"Sure." She nodded, leaving the living room and kitchen area to follow her friend up the stairs.

"I apologize on behalf of my whole family for Rosalie. She takes time getting used to, but once she warms up to you it'll be great - you'll see."

She admired Alice's optimism, but she had a hard time imagining it.

Rosalie was a bit too blunt for her liking.

They entered her room and Eliza's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't known what to expect but… it hadn't been this.

Alice didn't have much in the way of furniture (she had a simple bed, a desk, and a chair - nothing more) but the wall… the wall was what had immediately grabbed at her attention.

It'd initially been white she guessed - and she could only guess because covering every surface were drawings made by Alice herself. It was a splash of color and creativity of the likes she'd never seen before.

"I didn't know you could draw, or paint, or whatever this is," Eliza's hand motioned around her.

"Told you I was full of surprises."

"Yeah, I can see that. It's… it's beautiful Alice."

The girls smile lit up the room. "I didn't have any room left in here so I moved over to continue in Jazz's room, you wanna see?"

How much free time did this girl have? Her family had only moved to Forks a month ago.

"He won't mind? I know some people are really territorial over their bedroom…"

Alice rolled her eyes as if the notion was ridiculous. "He won't mind."

Jasper's room had a different feel to it.

It wasn't anything she could pinpoint but the colors seemed darker and more bold. Eliza wondered if Alice had subconsciously broadcasted Jasper's personality in her art and if so what it meant.

His room wasn't finished, she was barely done through half a wall, but it was a big wall, so merit was due.

"Seriously, this is just - wow."

"I'm glad you like it." Alice seemed almost intimidated by her praise, like she didn't deserve it. It was an odd expression on her face.

"So, got any other hidden talents I should be aware of?"

Alice smirked mischievously. "Maybe."

"Ohhh, spill!"

Alice ran her fingers through her lips, zipping them up.

"Alice! Please?"

"I can give one hell of a palm read."

"What?" Out of all the things she'd been expecting to hear, that had been at the bottom of Eliza's list. (It hadn't even been on the list, to be honest.)

"Yeah," Alice shrugged. "I can predict someone's future by reading their hand."

Eliza was pretty sure Alice was tricking her, but she decided to humor her friend. "Okay, then do me."

"Are you sure?"

"Course. What's the worst that could happen, you find out I'm gonna die tomorrow?" Her tone was light and teasing as she rolled up her sleeves and offered up her arm.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Haha," but before she could do anything Esme's voice rang out, calling them down for dinner.

"Maybe some other time?" Alice suggested.

"You bet. I am not letting you keep me from my destiny."

"God, you're such a dweeb."

"And yet you still choose to hang out with me. Doesn't that make you a dweeb too?"

"Shut up."

Eliza laughed, jokingly brazing her shoulder against Alice's. She'd never expected to find a friend like Alice in a place like Forks, but dang was she glad she had.

 **A/N: I don't know what's wrong with me guys, I've never written so much in so few days….This is awesome!**

 **I want to thank all the people that have viewed/favorited/followed my story. I've never gotten so much positive feedback and I am thrilled.**

 **A special thanks to the people who reviewed, you guys made my day! (Seriously, ask my mum - I was tearing up with tears of joy last night answering your messages.)**

 **I hope you all have a good day and till next time!**

 **P.S: I don't know if I should keep the title or change it to something else… Any suggestions? (Maybe 'Without courage' or 'In my blood'? Idk… )**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Honey, I'm Home!**

Eliza found herself for the second Friday in a row having dinner with the Cullen family. She had to admit though, the second time was definitely more pleasant than the first. If only because she was more at ease with the people surrounding her.

It was amazing how much a week could change things from perspective. Alice was now officially considered her friend and Eliza had a secure seat at lunch with a group of other people her age.

Life was turning out good. (As good as life as a teenager ever got.)

"Alice mentioned you went hunting last week. Did you go to the Reservation?"

Carlisle looked up in surprise from his plate. They all seemed to be eating more this time around. Maybe they just had an issue with cafeteria food? If that was the case - Eliza wouldn't blame them, even she sometimes doubted the edibility of the food served there.

"No," he shook his head. "We decided to take a little field trip and headed up-state."

Eliza nodded in feign interest. She hadn't known what else to say.

"Speaking of - there's going to be a school field trip next week," Alice smiled as she spoke, a twinkle in her eye. "Juniors only." She appeared to have kept this to herself all day, waiting for the opportune moment to announce it.

"They haven't told us anything -" Began Eliza.

"I know," Alice interrupted, but not in a rude way. "I overheard it in the office today. It's something that has popped up unexpectedly, you could say."

Edward was looking at Alice with a hard stare.

"Where are we going?" It was Emmett who asked.

"You'll see. But it's going to be fun! You'll like it, Emmett. You too, Jasper. Rosalie… I'm not really sure. Could go either way. " Alice finished her prediction with a shrug, and Eliza stifled her giggle.

The boys in question didn't seem to agree, and Rosalie didn't even look up from her plate, but they looked resigned - as if used to Alice telling them this sort of thing.

They probably were.

The rest of the dinner carried on normally.

Eliza was excused from coming up with any more conversation starters as Carlisle - or should she say - _Doctor_ Carlisle - talked about his day at the Hospital with his family.

Oddly enough, whilst she didn't necessarily partake in the discussion, Eliza didn't feel out of place. She felt like she was a part of the family and not just a girl who'd been over twice in her life.

It was nice, and she found herself wondering if this is what it would be like to have siblings and her parents there more often.

She wasn't bitter about it - her home situation was alright - but it did feel nice to let herself fantasize, if only for a few brief moments.

She helped clean afterwards this time, it took a lot of insisting but eventually she was able to coarse Esme into allowing her to carry the plates back to the kitchen. A sizable feat, she was aware.

She was a guest, but she didn't want to feel like one.

Esme asked again if she wanted to stay to play family games, and this time - Eliza didn't refuse.

They settled on Monopoly - maybe an unwise choice, that game destroyed family's and took ages to end and it was already ten in the afternoon.

Eliza was the first one out, the Cullens were surprisingly good and competitive.

Alice and Edward were accused of cheating on several occasions, but Eliza figured it was just family banter as she hadn't seen anyone with suspicious behavior - and she was out, which meant watching the others was the _only_ thing she was doing.

Emmett was the next one out, followed by Esme, then Rosalie and Jasper, until only Alice, Edward and Carlisle were left.

They seemed to be tied in a battle of wits and after a long, long, _long_ time, Alice was named victor.

By then Eliza hadn't really been following the game, playing Uno with the 'losers' and only glancing from time to time.

She won a few rounds in that one, although she got the feeling she was _allowed_ to win more than anything.

She wasn't a sore loser and it was amusing they thought it polite to let her have the illusion of victory. Especially because she'd caught onto what they were doing.

It was all fun and games until Eliza chanced a look at her watch and caught the time.

It was almost two in the morning. Two in the _freaking_ morning.

How had she not realised this?

"Shit, I should probably go," she cursed. "I mean… shoot?", she added nervously, looking at Esme and Carlisle with a grimace. She didn't know the Cullen's stance regarding cursing. Parents were usually sensitive on that subject - as if cursing was the end of the world.

For some, luckily not hers, it was, not that Eliza sweared that much. In fact, unless she was deeply passionate about something, or surprised, she didn't curse at all.

Esme laughed, "It's okay darling. What time is it?"

" _Late_. I'm sorry, I didn't realise so much time had passed."

"No, we're sorry, we should have noticed it was late." It was Carlisle who spoke, yet they all looked slightly worried, like they'd done something wrong. Even Rosalie appeared guilty. Of what she didn't know. They hadn't done anything wrong, it was her who had in any case - if they were to blame someone; which they weren't.

"It's fine." She waved off their worry. "I stay up late all the time. But I should probably head back home." Staying up into the wee hours of the morning in the comfort of her house was different from staying up so late _outside_ her house. Even if it was the same thing (technically) the whole situation changed.

She didn't want to go home though. She'd been having so much fun and the thought of going back to her empty house, all alone, wasn't appealing to her senses in the slightest.

She was also tired - her position on the couch was so comfortable - and moving seemed like such a big effort.

Eliza got up anyways, besides her body's protest, and gathered her things - her jacket and handbag.

"It was really nice to have me over," she thanked them - again. "I had a lot of fun."

She received warming smiles from everyone - yes, even Rosalie, though hers was slightly strained if she stared at it too long. Which she didn't.

"Let Jasper drive you."

Eliza looked at Alice in confusion. Again? The poor guy probably had better things to do than take her home each time she stayed over.

"Your bike is at the school, it's dark out and you're tired. Besides, Jasper's the best at driving during night."

Eliza turned her face to Jasper, a hopeless expression plastered on. It really wasn't her fault that Alice kept dragging him into helping her. She'd have to talk about it with her friend if this continued to occur.

Jasper got up, straightening his jumper in the process - it was a cute gesture. "It's fine, I don't mind."

"You sure?"

"Come on," he nodded, fishing a car's keys from the entrance - they had so many! - and opening the door for her.

"Goodnight," she called out and stepped into the night.

It was colder now than before, with September ending and October just around the corner, she should have thought to bring her coat along with her. She was always forgetting to grab the necessary layers and then complained when the cold settled in.

He chose a silver car - a brand of which she would not be able to name- and opened the passenger door for her.

"Thanks," she said, settling in and pulling her jacket closer to her body. _What a gentleman._

"Do you remember where-"

"Yes."

Of course he did, he'd only been there two times in the span of one week. Maybe she was spending too much time with Alice?

She'd only just met her.

Wasn't Eliza's fault though. She'd just clicked with Alice. It was one of those friendships where one felt like they'd know each other their whole lives beside it having been a short period of time.

She hoped Alice felt the same way. It'd be awkward otherwise. Eliza was sure Alice reciprocated the enthusiasm, she wouldn't have invited her over to her house again, after spending a whole afternoon helping her, if she didn't enjoy Eliza's company.

"Shit, my parents are home," Eliza groaned as the car pulled up in front of her house.

They were supposed to be back in the morning - at earliest. What the hell were they doing home already?

They never arrived before time. Late? Always. Early? Never.

And how was she going to explain the late hour at which she was coming home to? At least it wasn't a school night… A small miracle - Oh, who cared, she was still going to have her head bit off.

"You gonna be okay?" Jasper asked, sensing her fear and resignation and not knowing what to do or say. _He_ wasn't the one friends with the girl.

"What? Oh, yeah. Don't worry," She laughed distractedly. "See you on Monday?"

Jasper nodded, waiting for Eliza to be on her porch step before firing up the engine and leaving.

Her mother opened the door, relief washing her face and then quickly being replaced by a disappointed scowl.

Her eyes faintly traced the disappearing vehicle behind her daughter's outline.

"Do you have any idea how late it is?" She snapped, eyes back on Eliza.

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time," Eliza mumbled out her reply as she stepped past her mother and went into the house.

"Did you now?" The door closed softly. At least her mother wasn't angry enough to slam it close. Or maybe this was the terrifying 'Calm before the storm' people were always weary about. "And what were you doing to 'lose' track of time?"

"Nice to see you too, Mum. I missed you." Was her tort answer. She was too tired to fight right now, it was late - and she had missed her parents. She didn't want to argue with them just this moment.

Her mother's eyes softened and she pulled Eliza in for a tight hug. "I missed you too, sweetheart. But you have to understand, I was worried when you weren't here."

Eliza understood her reasons, albeit, if her mother had been there in the first place, instead of out, she would have known where she was to begin with. Even if it _was_ late.

"I worry about you, being alone all the time. I mean, anything could happen to you and we'd be so far away -" _Well_ , Eliza thought, _there's an easy solution for you to not worry - don't go away all the time_. It wasn't like anyone forced her to tag along with her Dad. She didn't say anything though, not wanting to further anger her mother - which is the reaction her words would garner.

"Hey," her father walked into the room, interrupting her mother's ramblings, "There you are!"

"Hey, Dad."

"Where were you?"

Eliza sighed. She had to do this a second time? Except, she actually answered her father. "At a friends."

"You mean at a boy's," her mother corrected.

"Mum!"

"I saw him driving off, so don't bother lying."

"That was Jasper, Alice's _brother_."

"Alice?"

"My friend? The one I told you about!" Eliza's hands went up in the air when her mother still seemed lost.

"The one who invited you to dinner?" Her father asked, eyebrows furrowed.

" _Yes_. She invited me over again today and after dinner, her family and I played Monopoly and I guess I didn't realise it was so late…"

Both her parents sighed deeply, but at least they didn't seem as mad anymore.

Probably because she'd been in the company of adults.

"Right… How come you're home already?" Eliza asked, hoping to distract them from going back to nagging her.

"Your father wanted to sleep in his bed again," Her mother rolled her eyes, winking at Eliza dramatically.

They looked tired, more than her - which was understandable, they'd probably been driving for miles just to get back in time to squeeze a couple of hours of sleep.

"And," her mother added, "I wanted to have breakfast with you in the morning."

It was Eliza's turn to roll her eyes.

* * *

"What happened to the living room?"

Eliza was too tired to talk. She'd just gotten up - not because she wanted to, but because her parents had no consideration regarding her teenage sleeping cycle - and was in no good mood.

Her parents had never seemed to need much sleep; they could function with five hours perfectly, sometimes with even less.

In fact, their bodies couldn't seem to be still for more than six hours. It made sharing a house with them a living hell when all one wanted to do was sleep in without disturbance.

Her parents were weird.

"Huh?" said Eliza in answer to her mother's question, because that was the only sound she was able to procure so soon after waking up.

"I asked; what happened to the living room?"

Eliza turned her eyes to the living room, looking at it in confusion before what her mother meant settled in her brain.

"Oh, that," She yawned, "Alice helped me unpack. Do you like it?"

"Well," her mother squinted at the furniture, "It's not how I would have arranged it - but it looks nice. Thank you, and thank your friend." Her mother had a talent for delivering compliments that made one wonder if she truly meant it or was being condescending.

Eliza nodded, making her way to the breakfast cabinet and grabbing the packet of waffles.

"Want some?"

"No thanks, I already ate sweetie."

"Of course." If Eliza had to guess, her indifference towards nicknames was probably due to her mother's insistence on calling her all things sweet.

She put her waffles in the toaster and prepared herself a glass of milk in the meantime. "Where's Dad?"

"Went out to do groceries. The fridge was oddly empty."

"Was it? Hadn't realised, I would have restocked otherwise ."

The waffles popped up and Eliza spread some chocolate on them, finally taking a seat at the breakfast table. Her mother was pretending to read the newspaper, waiting for her to be done before asking what was clearly on her mind.

"So, tell me about this new friend of yours."

"Alice?" Eliza took a bite out of her waffle - it was really good.

"She seems like a nice kid."

"She is. You're going to like her."

Her mother laughed. "What makes you say that?"

"She has a lot of energy." Eliza took another bite and a sip of milk.

Her mother shook her head in amusement. "And that Jasper boy, he her brother?"

"Foster brother actually," although the situation was a whole lot more complicated than that, if her guess turned out to be true - but she wasn't going to get into _that_ with her mother. "Dr. Cullen and Mrs. Cullen can't have kids, so they've adopted foster children instead."

"That's very humanitarian of them."

"They're good people. And they moved here this summer too, so at least I'm not the only new kid at school."

"I'm sure you would have made friends either way," her mother smiled reassuringly at her. Eliza didn't know what for.

"I'm sure, but it has helped. I don't think Edward and Rosalie like me very much though." They had seemed to be warming up to her presence last night though, so maybe there was still hope for her yet. "Emmett's nice, but we haven't had a chance to talk much yet. I've mostly just stuck with Jasper and Alice."

Her mother whistled, "That's a lot of teenagers."

Eliza nodded, taking another bite.

"But coming back to Jasper… He was _cute_."

"Mom," Eliza groaned.

"What? It's about time you showed some interest in the opposite sex. I mean, you're what - eighteen, and you haven't even had a boyfriend yet."

"So?"

"So, _sweetie_ , you're in your prime! You should be out there, experiencing things. _People_."

Eliza pretended to gag. "Thanks, but I'm good." Thank god she was almost done with her breakfast, she didn't think herself capable of finishing after what had just come out of her mother's mouth.

"Fine. At least reassure your poor old mother that you're not blind and have realised he was good-looking. Cause if I had enough time to come to that conclusion with just a small glimpse…"

"He's my friend's brother!" _And possible boyfriend._

"Come on, I won't tell anyone." Her mother was creepy sometimes.

Eliza had always had a hard time resisting her mother's puppy eyes though. Damn her.

"Fine, yes. But the whole family is insanely attractive."

Her mother's eye piqued up in interest. "Say, how old is their father…"

Eliza's eyes grew. "You can't be serious. Mum!", she said, hitting her mother playfully on the shoulder.

"What? If I ever want to spice things up - I need options."

"Ew, that is way too much information. You can't say things like that to your daughter!" Even though her tone was pretending to be stern, Eliza was laughing.

She'd missed her mother.

And it was moments like this that made it all the much harder when they left her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Samantha**

Eliza was having an off day.

She woke up on Saturday, looked at her alarm, and immediately knew it was going to be one of _those_ days.

Those days where it was hard to get up and function, hard to walk and talk like everything was okay, hard because there was a heavy weight pushing down on her and dragging her feet and everything was just _too much._

Perhaps it was because her parents were back and having them at home reminded her of her past life, life before Forks, and she didn't like remembering life before Forks.

She'd moved to Forks to _forget_ that part of her life.

And yet it followed her everywhere, like a shadow - one no amount of sunlight would be able to get rid of - waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Gaining strength for when she was at her weakest and would not be able to fend it off.

She'd made it quite a long time without a lapse - three weeks to be exact -, it had only been a matter of time really.

So, she didn't fight it. It may not have been healthy, but she had given up fighting a long time ago - _she didn't want to_.

Simple as that.

She just let herself be consumed by her guilt.

Eliza had been happy back in San Francisco, the happiest she could ever remember being and yes it was cheesy to say so, but it had all been thanks to one person; her best friend - Samantha Warner.

She'd been… amazing for lack of a better description.

One of the most beautiful people inside and out that Eliza had ever had the privilege of meeting in her short lifespan.

She'd loved Samantha more than anyone in the whole entire universe, more than what she'd thought capable of loving someone - more than herself.

Samantha had been her other half, her soul mate, her everything. Her best friend.

And then she'd gone and gotten herself killed.

It was more complicated than that though, because wasn't it always?

It hadn't been an accident, no matter what everyone else thought, because Eliza knew the truth, yet _how_ could she tell anyone, how could she tell Samantha's _parents_ that their sweet, innocent, daughter had killed herself?

That she'd been depressed, had for a long time, and Eliza had known, she had _known_ \- and she hadn't told anyone.

Because - why? _Why_ hadn't she?

Eliza's eyes got blurry with unshed tears and she shook her head, hoping to unhook herself from the reverie she found herself in. As if it was that easy, as if just wanting to _stop_ would do anything.

She rolled over and heaved a big sigh.

Her blank ceiling stared back at her, looming over Eliza as she felt more alone than she had in a long time.

Today was going to be a hard day.

She made herself get out of bed, forced herself to walk down the stairs, to cook breakfast, but most importantly - she ordered her stupid brain to think of something else.

"Good morning, you sleep alright?" Her father walked in, planting a soft kiss on her head and reaching for his own mug of coffee, setting it down besides hers.

"Yeah," Eliza nodded, closing her eyes with the movement.

Sleeping wasn't the problem - waking up was.

Her dad nodded, moving about the kitchen as usual until he seemed to notice something was off about the silence that now reigned in the room.

"You okay?" He asked, stopping and taking the time to look at her. _Really_ look at her. He'd always known when something was up, when her mind wasn't really there. But he'd had to get good at recognising the subtle signs, the alternative of failing to notice had become too harsh a thought to even linger upon since…

Eliza could feel real tears now brimming the corner of her eyes as her mouth tried to reassure her father. She'd never been skilled at lying, especially where her feelings were concerned.

But as anyone trying not to cry - the harder she tried, the harder it was to hold it all in.

She shook her head as the first drops fell and a sob went out through her throat instead.

She'd been denying the inevitable really, from the moment her eyes had opened that morning, she'd knew she'd end up like this - a pathetic sobbing mess. Because it was always the same.

And once the dam opened - it took work shutting it down.

Her father wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her. He used to be bad with crying people, didn't know how to handle the mess - and now, now it came to him as natural as breathing.

"Hey," he whispered, tugging her tight. "It's okay, it's okay."

But it wasn't, and he knew that. It wasn't because her best friend was dead and there wasn't anything Eliza could do. There wasn't anything she could do to change what had happened, and Samantha was dead and fuck her for killing herself and fuck her for leaving Eliza all alone and just - _fuck her_.

But Eliza didn't really blame her - she did though, didn't she? Wasn't that the whole problem? The stem of her guilt?- because it hadn't been Samantha's fault for feeling like that, not really. She couldn't blame the victim.

No matter how many times those words rang in her head, they never rang true enough for her to believe them.

And that was her main problem.

Her best friend had killed herself and Eliza was blaming _her_ for it.

Like Samantha could've somehow prevented it all, stopped herself from feeling all the things she felt, all those bad and twisted, horrible and negative thoughts.

Eliza was a bad person for thinking like that, for thinking _that -_ she was aware; she was horrible - a horrible friend.

"I miss her." The words were out before she could stop them. Eliza didn't want her father's pity, she _didn't_ , so why had she said that?

She always did this, blurted out what she was feeling when she didn't want to.

Like her mind was incapable of bottling anything up. Just once, she wished she could keep her feelings to herself, but then again, no one would be there to reassure her and Eliza had to admit, she didn't do good dealing with things by herself.

Last time she'd tried to take care of something without asking anyone for help had resulted in her best friend's death.

"I know," her father replied, stroking her hair softly. "We all do."

No one missed Samantha more than her, she thought, but that was selfish - what about Samantha's parents, surely they'd miss her more? _Then why didn't they realise she wasn't okay? Why didn't they do anything?_

Maybe because she hadn't told them.

Depression was a bitch, and suicide it's ugly older sibling.

* * *

The rest of Eliza's Saturday was spent in a foggy state where everything mostly went by in a blurred, dreamy haze.

According to the multiple doctors she'd visited after… well _after -_ her coping mechanism seemed to be shutting down.

If the situation was new, she'd suffer a panic attack the first two or three times - the typical:I-can't-breathe-and-feel-like-I'm-going-to-throw-up-so-someone-please-help-me, but after that, it seemed her brain anticipated what would happen and instead decided that the best way to avoid an attack was simply shutting down and not feeling anything.

It seemed to think there were only two options available - either feeling everything all at once, or not feeling anything at all.

So Eliza would enter a state of what could be compared to being drugged.

Whilst she was like this, her parents always argued about what to do.

Her father was of the opinion that she was not to be left alone, that someone needed to be there all the time, looking after her, making sure nothing happened to her or that she didn't do anything 'stupid', which Eliza knew meant just one thing in particular.

It was ironic though, considering how they left her alone about ninety percent of the time. If she really felt the need to do something 'stupid', like he so delicately put it, she wouldn't do it whilst her parents were home. She'd wait until they left.

Not that she'd ever thought about doing anything - actually, that was a lie, she _had_ thought about it - but more in the casual way most people think about it at least once, in a "What if?" scenario more than actually being serious about it.

Her mother was more inclined to the "Let's let her go through this privately", which Eliza knew was just a synonym for "I'm scared of what my daughters friend did so I'm going to pretend nothing happened and maybe that way nothing did."

And it's not like it was hard for her mother to pretend, after all, except for them three, everyone else thought Samantha had just been the victim of yet another tragic car accident that had taken a life too soon.

It had probably been wrong of Eliza to hide the truth, especially from Samantha's own parents, but when they already blamed themselves for having bought their daughter a car when she was so young, when they already blamed themselves for having let her drive so late at night, how could she, no - how was she _supposed_ to tell them, tell them that the accident hadn't been just that, that it had, in fact, been an intentional crash with the intention of killing the driver, and that it had succeeded _exceptionally_ well.

She hadn't been able to bring herself to tell them that. She just hadn't been able to. She hadn't been able to bring more pain and guilt to two parents that were already suffering immensely, going through one of the hardest things for a parent to experience - the loss of a child.

So Eliza hadn't told anyone, no one except for her parents, and that was only because they'd been with her when it happened and had guessed, and they too had agreed that perhaps, in that case, it was best to lie and keep the truth to themselves.

No need to add weight to an already overloaded charge.

Her Saturday was thus spent in her room, by herself and listening to music, and helping unpack her parents study, not that she remembered most of it.

On Sunday morning she was woken up by her mother coming into her room and sitting on the edge of her bed.

She sat there in silence for a while, just observing what her daughter had done to the place - making Eliza feel uncomfortably scrutinized - before lying down beside her.

"Your father and I are going to go for a long walk in the forest, and I think you should join us," she said, looking at Eliza with a small smile.

Eliza rubbed her eyes in response and rolled over to look at the time on the clock. Nine thirty in the morning.

It was early for her, but she didn't think being cooped up in the house by herself all day long was going to be good for her mental health, so she rolled over again with a forced smile on her face and said, "Sure, just give me an hour to get ready."

Her mother laughed softly, "We'll leave in half an hour, pumpkin," and she kissed Eliza on the forehead before she could protest - about the time or the nickname - and left.

Eliza groaned in disapproval, but her mother was already down the corridor and didn't provide a reaction, thus taking away all satisfaction from the action.

This provoked another groan from Eliza, this time in annoyance, as she also got up.

She passed her mirror on her way out, and even though she didn't want to, her eyes averted to take a peek.

She looked better than yesterday. Her hair was a mess, and she had small bags under her eyes, but otherwise she looked like she usually did.

This was how it normally worked, or at least had for the past year. She was fine for a couple of weeks, then really bad for one or two days, then back to normal, save for the momentary lapses that would last a couple of hours at most in between.

Eliza looked away from her reflection, not wanting to see herself any longer.

* * *

"Your mother and I have decided we're going to stay home a bit longer this time."

Eliza looked up from the trail to her father, eyes squinting against the sun shining behind him.

He stood out against the green surrounding them with his red raincoat and white t-shirt and big toothy smile.

"Cool," she answered, not really knowing what else to say. It wasn't the first time he'd said that, and every time a bit longer turned out to be an extra two days before they were off again.

He was only saying that because he was worried, but her parents were occupied people and soon they'd forget all about the previous day and go back to not being there.

Eliza was aware that she wasn't being fair.

It was her fault they'd been gone more recently. Apparently, the state of Washington didn't offer that many close travelling opportunities as California did, of what, Eliza did not know because her parents had never been open about what her dad did or why her mother wanted - and was allowed - to tag along on every trip.

When she'd been younger, she used to ask all the time, but after years and years of getting "It's Official Government business sweetheart, we can't tell you" she'd kind of given up and let it be.

Besides, when they were gone, all she did was miss them, and when they were there, all she could think about was when they'd next leave. She was stuck in a vicious loop of wanting what she didn't have and taking for granted what she did have.

But she was a child, she wasn't supposed to be fair.

"I was thinking we could go shopping for posters together, spend some quality mother-daughter time," her mother piped in after it became evident that Eliza had nothing else to say.

If she'd been paying more attention, she might've noticed the hint of disappointment in her mother's voice, and how they'd been expecting her to be happy by the news of what shouldn't have been that rare of an occurrence.

As it was, Eliza was still a little bit out of it and was currently looking at a leaf that had fallen on her shoe.

"Sounds good," she answered, not looking up, and having forgotten already what had been said to her.

Her mother shot an exasperated look at her father, as if saying " _Chris, say something!"_ , to which he shrugged with his own " _I don't know what to say either Joanne!"_.

Joanne's answer came out as a huff as she rolled her eyes.

"So, darling, tell us about school. How are you liking it so far?"

"It's school mum."

"Yes, I'm aware of that, I also went you know?" Joanne took a breath, "What I meant was, how are you liking it compared to San Francisco? I know it's a lot smaller than what you're used to."

"It's okay," Eliza shrugged, jumping over a tree root sticking out. "Teachers seem a lot more laid back, although classes are a bit harder." She was managing to keep up so far, but then again, they were only a couple of weeks in and she'd already done this year - not that she remembered a lot of it from the first time around.

"And what about your classmates, are they friendly?"

"I guess? I haven't talked to that many people to be honest." The first day, most of them had already made up an opinion of her based on the sole fact that she was two years older than everybody in her year, and besides, since Alice had started talking and then hanging out with her, she hadn't really felt the need to socialise.

"But you've made some friends right?"

"Yeah, Alice." Her mother knew this, Eliza had already told her on the phone - more than once.

"And… that's it?" Joanne was of the opinion that having only one friend was not healthy. What if that friend was sick and didn't go to school, would Eliza spend the day by herself? Or what if they had a fight, would she have no one else to hang out with? Or what if her friend killed herself, would she ask to move states?

The last one was more what Eliza guessed her mother thought, and not an actual statement.

"Honey, you know what I think about tying yourself to one person," she tried saying as delicately as possible.

Eliza decided to let it pass, but only because she was tired and knew she was being irritable.

"Well, there's also Emmet and Jasper, and Edward and Rosalie," the last two were a stretch, and she knew it, and the first two only half true. She shared P.E. with Emmet and had briefly talked to him on two occasions, and whilst Jasper sat next to her in Sciences, save for the frog experiment, he hadn't been chatty. And the bag placed on the empty seat next to him in History had been pretty self-explanatory.

"Aren't those her siblings?" Her father asked.

Eliza nodded, knowing he was going to take her mother's side and say that they didn't count then and daring him with her eyes to say just that.

He laughed but chose to stay silent.

"Anyways, enough about me. How was Montana?"

 **A/N: Hello everyone! Back again after a little over a year… sorry for that. I'm not the best at following through, but better later than never, no? Anyways, if anyone is still reading this story, thank you so much for sticking around! I definitely do not deserve it. Good news is, I have the next chapter written already (just need to do some final revising) and have started writing the one after that! So hopefully, this time around, I will be more consistent!**

 **As always, feel free to comment, especially with constructive criticism!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Stupid Alarm And Stupid Tent**

A loud, obnoxious noise woke Eliza up.

She had trouble identifying it at first, it had to have been louder than her usual alarm clock because she usually came to it gradually, not in a jolt.

Shooting a glare at the object of her hatred across the room only made her heart plummet as she read the time on her bedside clock.

It was ten fucking minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off. _What the hell?_

Eliza, like anyone in the position of waking up before necessary, refused to admit defeat and rolled over, hoping her eyes and ears had somehow betrayed her - they hadn't - and tried to fall asleep again - she didn't, even though she clung tight to the pillow over head, praying for sleep.

She hated when her parents did this.

Ten minutes later, her actual alarm went off and she would swear and groan if she had the energy, or if someone was there to witness the cruelty the universe was showing her - but there wasn't anyone, she was alone.

 _What a shocker._

Eliza was aware she was being dramatic, as usual, but she'd had a rough weekend and sleeping had felt so nice, so peaceful and inviting. She was entitled to a bit of over dramatic thoughts.

She got up, because her parents were stupid and annoying and had placed that dreadful alarm - that was still annyoningly blaring away on top of _her_ alarm - on the other side of her room, so that she _had to get up_ instead of just staying under her extremely comfortable covers.

The temptation of going right back to bed after the noise had been shut off aggressively was all too present, and she successfully ignored it by simply walking out, across the hall and into the bathroom, and splashing warm water - because she was responsible, not cruel, and the effects were the same as cold water - on her groggy face.

It didn't really work as well as everybody was always saying, but now that she was officially up Eliza may as well have gotten dressed, have breakfast and -

Basically what everyone did in the morning.

Her parents were supposed to be home - they should've been home - but something had come up overnight, made obvious by the note they'd stuck on the annoying alarm which she hadn't bothered to read - she already knew what it said.

This wasn't the first time they'd done this; whenever an emergency came up overnight and they didn't want to disturb her sleep, they'd leave a note and a loud noise to be noticed by the following morning - their form of some inside joke, surely.

Sadly for them, Eliza had never gotten it.

For once though, it seemed to actually be of use as it meant she was ready earlier than usual and that when she realised her bike was still at school and she'd have to walk there, Eliza would only be marginally late as to extremely late.

Luck was not on her side however when she opened the front door and was met with rain.

 _You've got to be kidding me._

* * *

Eliza didn't see any of the Cullens until lunch time, and by then her hair had gone from damp to frizzy - she'd decided to put it up and save herself the embarrassment of being resembled to a lion - and her clothes had dried somewhat.

"Hello," she greeted Edward and Rosalie as she sat down at their table. She felt weird without Alice there, but sitting by herself would've been weirder.

They both looked up at her, Edward's head nodding in a small act of recognition and Rosalie's lips lifting into one of the smallest smiles Eliza had ever seen, but she couldn't even be bothered by it because it looked liked Rosalie was trying to be friendly.

"How was your weekend?" Edward asked after an awkward pause that was starting to last too long. He looked uncomfortable asking, like he'd rather have not, but like Rosalie, he seemed to be actually trying and Eliza appreciated the effort.

It must've been irritating from their point of view - their younger sister had befriended the other new girl, and now said new girl was regularly eating lunch with them and hanging out around their house?

To be honest, Eliza could definitely understand how that would be anything less than ideal.

"It was good," she lied with a fake smile. _Oh yeah, totally awesome. See, I spent Saturday crying and Sunday out of it,_ _and when I woke up this morning, my parents weren't there so, you know, awesome!_

Edward was looking at her again in a way that had become uniquely his _,_ like he could always tell when she was lying and knew what she would rather be saying instead.

She didn't like it, it made her uncomfortable and squirm in her seat - but there was nothing she could do about it.

"What about, uhhh… what about yours?" Eliza said as she took out her lunch - homemade sandwich, she hadn't felt like cafeteria food - and tried distracting herself with the wrapping.

"Normal. Did homework… "

Eliza smiled politely, nodding in understanding, but internally she was also wondering what they'd been doing before she got there; it hadn't been eating, no food was in front of them, and they hadn't appeared to be talking so what, - had they been sitting there in complete silence?

It seemed like it.

Speaking about homework had reminded her that she hadn't done any all weekend and if she didn't want to be behind, she should probably do some work that evening. She had a math test coming up that she was in no way prepared for nor looking forward to.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for homework, school would be so much cooler right?"

Rosalie looked at her like she wanted to agree but wasn't quite sure how to.

"School would still be lame," the blonde said instead. "And a waste of time," she directed her words at Edward with a pointed look, probably hoping he'd sympathise with her.

"Tell me about it," Eliza chimed in with a roll of her eyes after it had become clear that Edward was not going to answer.

She was supposed to be done with this crap by now, and instead, she had two more years of dealing with this nightmare ahead of her.

Talk about unfair.

Albeit, some could argue that it was her fault… to some extent.

She took the first bite of her sandwich and then set it down again. She had a hard enough time eating in front of other people as it was - for some reason she couldn't seem to eat without something falling out or leaving smears on her face - and sitting with two other people that _weren't_ eating wasn't encouraging.

She didn't have time to worry though, because no sooner had the thought materialised in her head that Edward got up mentioning he was going to get something to eat and left the table - which left Eliza, alone, with Rosalie.

She wasn't going to lie, Rosalie kind of, mildly, slightly, terrified her? There was just something about her that was oddly intimidating and made Eliza nervous in her presence. It wasn't even her beauty that intimidated her - and she _was_ beautiful, maybe the most beautiful woman Eliza had ever seen.

There was just something about her that spelled "complicated", and Eliza was done with complicated. She wanted to stick to simple.

Two hand clasped down on her shoulders, effectively brining Eliza back to earth and consequently scaring the highlights out of her.

"Did I scare you?" Alice asked with a giggle, a glint in her eye because she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Eliza laughed, catching the sympathetic look Jasper was offering her over Alice's shoulder.

"Sorry we're late by the way," her friend apologized with a smile, taking the vacant chair next to Eliza as Jasper took the following seat.

"It's fine." Eliza looked at Alice with a tentative smirk and then traced her eyes to Jasper, hinting at what they possibly could have been doing by themselves to make them late - but Alice didn't seem to understand as she looked back at her in confusion.

* * *

"Don't forget that we will leave at seven-thirty sharp next Monday, so everyone _please_ be by the parking lot at seven, we don't want a repeat of last year. And I'll remind you that this counts for a grade so please try and act like you're actually making an effort."

Eliza looked away from Mr. Banner, their biology teacher, to Jasper sitting next to her.

"Do you have any clue about what he's talking about?" She asked him in confusion.

They were nearing the end of the class and she hadn't been paying attention for the past twenty minutes, her brain deciding that it was much more interesting to look out the window - which to be fair, it _was -_ than look at the cell diagram in front of her.

"I think it's some sort of school trip?" He whispered back, being much more subtle than her.

"How have I not heard of this before? I mean, normally they announce school trips ages in advance, right?"

Jasper shrugged, like he hadn't given it that much thought - which he probably hadn't.

Back at home, they always gave information weeks and weeks in advance, and had the students sign a million permission forms, on top of a meeting about the appropriate behavior to adapt because they were representing the school and thus had to be upstanding citizens and all that boring crap.

Eliza guessed she was still getting used to the laid back attitude of a small town high school.

She leaned to her right, lowering her voice. "And do you know what type of trip it is? Or how long it's going to be? Or -"

Jasper looked at her, probably in exasperation - she was most likely bothering him with all her pestering questions - but his eyes then kept going up until -

"Ms. Rolens, I know you may find my voice boring but there's only a couple of minutes left in class so please refrain from speaking until the bell rings. Think you can manage?"

Eliza flushed red with embarrassment as some of her surrounding classmates sniggered.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she apologised, not daring herself to turn around.

She _hated_ being called out.

When she was a child, it had always made her cry, and getting older hadn't changed much.

Mr. Banner moved back to the front of the class, continuing with his speech.

"As I was saying, when the bell rings, everyone needs to please grab a permission slip," he gestured to the pile in front of him, "and the list of items you need to bring." He pointed at the pile to his left. "It is very important your permission slips are signed, otherwise you will not be allowed to get on the bus. I repeat, you will not be allowed to get on the bus."

"I think it might be a camping trip."

Eliza looked at Jasper, surprised he'd bothered to answer her previous question, and upon seeing the small smile on his face, a sort of calmness came over her, making her forget the embarrassment she'd previously been feeling.

She'd noticed that about Jasper, he always seemed to calm her down with his presence.

It bothered her, on some level lower than the reassurance it brought her, that he seemed to have that effect on her.

It was weird and felt unnatural - yet somehow not at the same time? - but then again, she might've been conjuring out of thin air things that were actually just happening inside her head.

* * *

"Mom, I've already checked the basement and the shed - there's no tent." Eliza had spent the last twenty minutes on call with her parents, following their strict instructions in the hope of finding a camping tent.

So far, she had found a sleeping bag and a manual on how to set up a tent, but no actual tent. It was frustrating, how was she supposed to properly look when she was told to go into the garden shed, but avoid the shelf on the right, and check the basement, but not the small room inside it?

Or better yet, climb up to the attic only to then suffer through five minutes of her mother ranting, saying it was not safe up there and if Eliza had just _asked,_ then she would know that the tent was definitely _not_ there.

"Well, honey, check again because it has to be somewhere."

"Are you sure we just didn't forget it back in San Francisco?"

"No, I definitely saw it when we were packing. You just have to look better." That was easy for her to say, she was a mother, and everyone knew mother's had freaky atenas that could locate anything.

"Fine, but you know, this would be so much easier if you were here," she paused as she took a peek into the understairs cupboard, "Or if you'd told me about the school trip _whilst_ you were here."

"Like I said, we forgot," her mother said, choosing to ignore the first part of her statement, like Eliza knew she would. "We read about it way back when we en-rolled you, and that was so long ago."

"Yeah, yeah," she huffed, moving boxes around and still not finding the stupid tent. "Just don't forget to sign the permission form, otherwise I won't be able to go and to be honest, the trip sounds like fun, considering it's a school thing and all. I'll fax it to you tonight, alright?"

"Sure, but remind me in the mornings anyways?"

Eliza exhaled in frustration, although she couldn't help the small smile that took over her lips. It was one of the things she had in common with her mother - forgetfulness, albeit not the best of qualities, but at least it meant something.

"Yeah, I'll remind you." If she didn't forget herself, was what she meant to say. "So, how's…"

" - Idaho?"

"Idaho, yes."

"It's alright, should be a quick trip. Three days top, hopefully. We hate leaving you like that, so abruptly and without saying goodbye."

Eliza hated it too, but there was nothing she could do about it. An emergency was an emergency, daughter or no daughter.

She just wished that, after eighteen years of the same charade, she would be used to it by now.

They hadn't always left her by herself. When she was a small child, they had her stay at a friends for a couple of nights, never being gone for more than four days. When she was nine or ten, the friend's house turned into the neighbours, and slowly changed to daily check ups, then weekly and then nothing, until eventually they'd leave her alone for weeks; the longest being a month and three days.

Eliza still remembered the first time it had been just herself and big, _empty_ house. She'd been terrified, so scared and _alone_ , and cried all throughout the night.

Her first panic attack had been that week.

She had been thirteen, thirteen and doing her own groceries, cooking, taking care of herself - because nobody was going to be there for her except for herself.

And maybe this was getting old, moaning about her parents all day long, and - Hey, at least they loved her, and cared about her - when they were there -, things could've been so much worse, right? Things could always be worse, that was the thing, but that didn't mean they were any less important, did it?

"I know," she answered her mum, bringing herself back to earth. "I, uh - I understand." But the thing was - she'd never understood and feared she never would.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: All those in favor say aye**

"Wait," Rosalie retorted, holding up her hand in protest. "We're actually _going_ to this thing? Since when have we gone on stupid school trips?" She looked around in confusion and frustration that this was even up for debate.

Emmett, _Jasper_ and her, surrounded by blood pumping teenagers for a week, 24/7, with the possibilities of the sun giving them away - not to mention having to pretend to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom and all the annoying things humans had to live with every day?

Yeah, tempting but _no thanks._

Alice rolled her eyes, leaning her back against the wall. "Nothing happens," she said, a small smug smile on her quirky lips. "The weather stays cloudy all week, no one gets injured enough to bleed, and everyone will be too distracted to notice if you miss a couple of meals and showers. You guys are good."

Rosalie turned to look at her sister, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Yeah, funny how convenient your visions have been lately," she practically spat, looking Alice up and down. Her anger was getting the best of her, she was aware, but Rosalie didn't care. She was tired of having to string along to whatever her psychic siblings said, pretending she didn't also have an opinion to voice.

She'd done the whole "sitting quietly in a corner and agreeing to everything" and that hadn't worked out so well for her.

Emmett touched her shoulder softly, his warning that she was getting too worked up. Rosalie's eyes briefly met her mate's, he agreed with her, he seemed to be saying, but she had to calm down - so she forced herself to take a breath before carrying on.

"First, you tell us this "human" girl won't be a problem, and now this trip? Excuse me, but to me, it sounds like you're manipulating the rest of us to get your way," The blonde took a step closer to Alice, her voice steadier as she tried not to make it too intimidating. "And don't think I haven't noticed what your angle is here; you're trying to set her up with Jasper - which, in case you haven't noticed already, is _extremely_ dangerous." A smile plastered itself on Rosalie's face as she felt quite proud of herself. Alice thought she was so smart all the time, but after living with her for so long, Rosalie had grown to know her 'little sister' entirely too well. Alice wasn't as subtle as she liked to think of herself.

She couldn't help but wonder what had even been going on in Alice's head if she thought Eliza and _Jasper_ were even a possibility.

Rosalie's eyes flickered over to Jasper in apology for bringing him into the argument. "No offense Jasper, but your control isn't the best - even if she smells repugnant, a human and a vampire would never work. And turning her is out of the question." Her glare silenced Alice's next words, forcing the brunette to think carefully about what she wanted to say next.

Jasper seemed uncomfortable in the meantime, not knowing what to make of the revelation or situation. He had perceived some insistence from Alice's side, but he'd just marked it as her wanting him to socialize more, not as her trying to score him a date. If it was even that, with his control it would be more like setting him up with a meal - albeit a soggy, left on the counter for two days kind of meal.

He felt somewhat guilty for thinking of Eliza in that way, but it was true - she didn't smell all that appealing. Not that it was an issue, it made being in her presence much more bearable.

And besides, he didn't need anyone, much less a _human._ What had Alice been thinking, assuming she had a say on anything concerning his love life - which he hadn't even thought _existed_ until now.

Ever since Maria, he had shut off the possibility; he wasn't interested, and he was fine by _himself_. He thought Alice had known that, knew him better - but apparently that wasn't the case.

Alice finally seemed to figure out what she wanted to say, "That is sooo _not_ what I'm doing here!" She protested. "Stop assuming you're so smart Rosalie!" Yes, Alice was aware she sounded like a petulant child, but she didn't work well under pressure and she had to find a different approach to the situation if she wanted her family to get on board. Which she did, even though right now, all her mind seemed to be capable of doing was screaming in frustration and wondering how the heck Rosalie had figured everything out.

Her thoughts brought a chuckle to Edward's lips, which Alice silenced immediately with a glare. _Stop that! You're the only one who knew, and I swear to god, if you told Rosalie -_

"I haven't said anything to anyone," Edward answered out loud, drawing the stares of everyone in the room.

"Hey, come on guys," Emmett said. "No secret conversations, that's cheating!"

There was a murmur of agreement as everyone's gazes switched to Alice.

"Okay, so maybe I've been a bit insistent with Eliza," Alice settled on saying. "But _come on_ guys, we aren't exactly the most inconspicuous people! We act differently and everyone has noticed! - save for Eliza." Alice's fingers played with her bottom lip nervously as she carried on. "I ju- I just thought that, for once, we could try something new and see how it worked out." Her hands played with the hem of her dress nervously. She hated being this nervous, she wasn't used to the feeling, but it had been a while since she'd wanted something to work out so strongly. "This is the best scenario we could have hoped for! She's also new, so she has no previous human connections, she's already unwillingly helped diffuse some rumors about us, _and_ she's _completely_ oblivious. Ask Edward if you don't believe me!" Her hands shifted to gesture at her brother enthusiastically.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck in unease. He could really care less about the human - actually that was a lie, he was intrigued by her; she acted all fine on the outside but her head shouted a completely different theme, something was always bothering her, but he hadn't been able to grasp what it was just yet. She seemed set on _not_ thinking about it _whilst_ thinking about it.

It was the sole entertainment he found at school - which was just sad.

"I wouldn't say completely oblivious, Alice. She _has_ noticed some stuff, but I won't lie - it seems unlikely she'll ever figure out what we are. Her brain appears to be set on not making her think anything is out of place, in the traditional - or supernatural- sense at least." _She does seem to think we're all anorexic though._

"Plus," Alice added, "Thanks to her repugnant smell, being around her is _half_ the effort humans usually require!"

Her cheerful tone fell flat with her words.

Edward knew that Alice had grown to appreciate this human besides her current criticism.

Meanwhile, Jasper just pitied the poor girl. Sure, they'd just met her, but he had sensed the warmth she already felt for their family - Alice in particular -, and the fact that current family was calling her stupid and foul-smelling in a way, and using her for personal gain, seemed unfair to him.

Rosalie huffed in exasperation, her non-existence patience wearing thin. "Look, even then; she's still a human Alice! Half the effort _is still more than none_. Our house is supposed to be our sanctuary, our safe place. I shouldn't have to control myself here as well." Rosalie really wanted Alice to understand that this wasn't a personal vendetta against her, she was just trying to be logical and play it safe. For _all_ of them.

She kept herself from looking at Jasper though.

Contrary to what the others thought, Rosalie actually liked Forks. It was quieter than their previous home and the teachers weren't half as annoying - although that might've been because they seemed to ignore her for the most part - but the bottom line was; she didn't want to risk leaving Forks so soon after their arrival. "And a week surrounded by them? We'd be taking a giant risk! Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy?"

Everyone - save for Alice - nodded their agreement; reluctantly or willingly.

"I'm sorry, Alice," Emmett offered with a supportive shrug. "But Rosalie is right. It seems silly to put everyone's lives at stake for a stupid trip. Sure, it sounds like fun, but so does not accidentally killing everyone, you know?"

"And we know you meant well with Eliza," Carlisle brought his arm to rest reassuringly on his daughter's shoulder. "But perhaps you got a little too excited about her."

Alice looked into the doctor's eyes, still holding on to hope. "Maybe, but I'm telling you guys, I've seen our future here and the _only_ way we can live our lives a little bit more relaxed than anywhere else we've been before is Eliza. She's normal and likable-"

Edward disagreed on that, he knew a lot of people seemed to not want to talk to Eliza just because she was older than them - a truly stupid reason in his opinion.

" -and if people see her hanging out with us, they'll stop paying that much attention to us. If you don't believe me - fine, but _trust_ me on this. When have I been wrong before?"

She wasn't completely right, she _had_ been wrong before, but it was true that in general; Alice's predictions were fairly accurate.

Esme cleared her throat softly, arms wrapped around her elbows. "If all three of you don't go on this trip, some people will find that suspicious, and they might start asking unwanted questions." She hesitated slightly before continuing. "I agree with Alice, you should go. We can go hunting right before, and you'll be staying in the woods all week. Worst comes to worst, you can sneak out at night and refuel," She proposed, pausing as she carefully weighed her next words. "I don't know if Jasper should go though." Her body turned to face the person in question, her smile sad. "I'm sorry, honey."

Jasper was offended - mildly - but mostly because he knew it was true. He was the most recent member to go 'vegetarian', and he was still struggling with the adjustment; more than he liked, and everyone had noticed his progress - or lack thereof - and the frustration that came with it. For the most part, they seemed to acknowledge it in silence; but somehow having it said out loud brought out how much weaker he was.

He appreciated the Cullens, he truly was fond of them, but most of the time he still felt like an outsider to their family.

He didn't belong with them, they were good - or tried to be - and he was failing. Alice was the reason he was there, and he still didn't know _why him._ What had made him so special that she'd seen him in a vision and thought him worth the effort?

Alice rolled her eyes, "Jasper will be fine. He _has_ to go."

Edward's nose cringed with mild disgust, no doubt having read Alice's mind, but he refrained from saying anything, most likely judging it wise to keep it to himself.

It was the right decision.

Carlisle sighed, looking at his children. "Rosalie, Emmett, I think you should go. But no one is forcing you to," he felt like he had to precise. "If you don't feel like you'd be able to manage, that is fine."

Rosalie contained her growl, knowing fully well that Carlisle was baiting her by making it seem like if she didn't go, she wasn't strong enough, and that Rosalie hated being doubted.

He'd played her like a fiddle.

Carlisle looked at Jasper, and then Alice, sighing deeply. "We will discuss Jasper's attendance later."

* * *

"Everyone be ready to leave in ten minutes!"

Eliza looked up from her book and checked her watch for the fourth time in the past ten minutes.

None of the Cullens had showed up so far, and she was starting to think they weren't coming at all. She hadn't thought to ask if they'd be going on the field trip, assuming the answer to be yes considering it was mandatory and counted for a grade, but now she was starting to think that maybe she should have asked for confirmation just in case.

People had started to get on the bus and there was still no sign of them.

Eliza sighed in defeat, as she assumed they weren't coming, and closed her book, preparing to mount the bus by herself.

She got carsick easily so she chose a window seat near the front and plugged in her headphones, knowing the possibilities of someone approaching her to make conversation were very slim.

This is why her mother had insisted on making friends that weren't all from the same family, to avoid being left alone with no one to hang out with, and Eliza hated admitting her mother was right.

She got her book out again and resumed her reading, her previous anticipation for the trip fading until it was replaced with mild dread.

She'd been looking forward to this oddly enough. She hadn't gone camping in ages, the last having been with Samantha about a year and a half ago.

Eliza shook her head and brought herself back to the bus and her book. _Just focus on the words and_ -

"Is this seat taken?"

Eliza looked up in confusion, a small smile replacing her frown as her eyes settled on the figure in front of her.

"Jasper!" She exclaimed before noticing that she didn't want to sound _too_ eager to see him. "No, of course not. Take a seat." She moved her bag to make space for him, containing her grin.

A quick look showed Rosalie and Emmett taking the seat behind them and Eliza was so relieved she wasn't going to be alone anymore that it was almost embarrassing.

When it became clear no one was going to say anything else, she went back to her book, still controlling the smile on her face.

 **A/N: Sorry for taking longer to post this chapter! My boyfriend came to visit me for a week and it took me a while to write the Cullen's argument, although I have to admit I'm proud of the end result! So… thoughts so far?**


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